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Post by wollastoni on Jul 18, 2015 21:03:33 GMT
You should better learn their latin names.
It would help you a lot in your collection and you will better understand the links between the species
Most of the species don't have "common names".
We all have been "beginners" like you. With the passion, learning all those latin names come very fast.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Jul 18, 2015 21:06:57 GMT
No, don't do that otherwise most people won't know what actual butterfly you are talking about. Common names for the same animal vary from place to place, and the same name can be used for totally different species in different countries too.
You will soon get used to the names and how to use them, and once you learn them you will find it easy to communicate. One tip, if you're not certain just Google a name and you will (*usually* - but not always) find the correct spelling.
The capital letter at the start of a genus name is important to indicate that the name is generic, and likewise a name starting with a small letter is either a species or subspecies. These rules are there to help people who are not familiar with the species to know what status the names have.
Adam.
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Post by Paul K on Jul 19, 2015 2:56:12 GMT
Ornithoptera are notorious for this, I wasted quite a few specimens as a young man by not relaxing them for long enough, you need to recognise the signs of a poorly relaxed specimen as opposed to a glued one. I have done that to 2 females of O.priamus . I even injected hot water to the torax near wings then work the wings until one almost come apart and second still broke off on " shoulder " Really frustrating and on top of this after removing from spreading board the wings were nowhere near flat . Paul |
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Post by Paul K on Jul 19, 2015 3:10:17 GMT
You should better learn their latin names. It would help you a lot in your collection and you will better understand the links between the species Most of the species don't have "common names". We all have been "beginners" like you. With the passion, learning all those latin names come very fast. I have collected leps for so many years and still have hard time to remember Latin names . Always have to check their spelling to make sure I post correctly but thanks to the internet it is possible quite fast. |
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Post by deliasfanatic on Jul 19, 2015 3:26:17 GMT
Here's my technique for large specimens that I inject:
You want to be sure that the specimens are well-relaxed before injecting; minimum 2 days and usually 3 for me. Then inject water near the wing bases and wait (10-15 minutes is usually enough). I hold the body between my fingers; I position forceps so that they can push the forewings (still folded) upwards, away from the hindwings, with the forceps pushing behind the heavy costal veins, one on each FW underside. Don't actually grip the wings, just close the forceps enough so that you can push the wings. Do this a few times to exercise and loosen them.
Then, use forceps to grip a forewing as close to the base as possible. Flex it up and down a few times to loosen it. You'll often hear a very slight click; not a "crack" or you may be breaking the wing, but a slight click is normal. Move to the hindwing on the same side, and gripping as close to the base as you can, flex it a few times too. Be more gentle with the HW, as it's not as firmly attached as the FW and is more likely to crack or break off. Then repeat on the other side.
Pinch the body with thumb and finger so you can insert an insect pin. Make sure it's going in as straight (side to side and back to front) as possible. I use a chopstick with the end hollowed out as a "pusher" after the pin has been started into place; this makes it easier to insert than trying to do it by hand or with forceps, and prevents your fingers from rubbing on the wings. After the pin is in place, I use the forceps again to flex the wings a few times, making sure that they're as moveable as they're going to get.
When you begin to position the FW into place on the board, pay special attention to the "shoulders" and make sure that the wings remain flat, not causing buckling. If the latter happens, the specimen isn't soft enough and will have bent shoulders; unfortunately, by the time you realise this, the damage has often been done and it can no longer be set properly. I've managed to fix a few specimens that I received from old collections with bent shoulders, but only with great care and effort; I made sure that they were extremely well relaxed and injected, and weighted the wing bases with a stack of coins so they couldn't spring back into the buckled position as they dried.
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Post by Paul K on Jul 19, 2015 3:38:58 GMT
Also I have noticed that every nationality will pronunced Latin names according to their language rules.
For example English spoken people will often say: praiames ( priamus ) , Troaides ( Troides )
I don't speak Latin so I have no idea of correct pronunciation but sometimes when people talk I have no clue what species they talk about because of that .
Paul
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2015 8:02:28 GMT
It's just being familiar with the names Paul, it will come over time, the more you use the names the easier it becomes.
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Post by Paul K on Jul 19, 2015 10:16:23 GMT
It's just being familiar with the names Paul, it will come over time, the more you use the names the easier it becomes. My point is that when we read Latin we all know what is this all about , once we try to talk about some species in Latin many of us pronunced them incorrectly. English is the international language but when we use Latin names for science we should not read those using English rules or any other rules at this point. Simple example is Parides or Troides . Letter " i " should sound like an English " e " . Paul |
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Post by cabintom on Jul 19, 2015 15:13:32 GMT
In terms of relaxing specimens and then injecting to relax further: I just procured a needle/syringe to help set specimens (Charaxes in particular). How can you tell that you've injected enough fluid? Maybe I just need to find the right touch, but I've found that I tend to inject too much and suddenly I've got liquid on the wings.
As an additional question, I see that warm water is used for these injections, but is there harm in using ethyl acetate/acetone/nail polish remover for the same purpose? Or would that not work for the purpose of relaxing the specimen?
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Post by wollastoni on Jul 19, 2015 15:42:58 GMT
Hot water or alcohol (Gin or vodka) are the most used injection products.
I prefer hot water personnally.
About the amount of water, be sure not too inject too much and to remove the injected water with paper toilet. Otherwise you will damp your specimen and it may stain the wings.
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Post by Paul K on Jul 19, 2015 15:56:07 GMT
Hot water or alcohol (Gin or vodka) are the most used injection products. I prefer hot water personnally. About the amount of water, be sure not too inject too much and to remove the injected water with paper toilet. Otherwise you will damp your specimen and it may stain the wings. Yes Olivier I prefer hot water too. Vodka or gin is injected directly to my stomach not the torax  |
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Post by deliasfanatic on Jul 19, 2015 16:46:16 GMT
I've heard that hot water can damage specimens; I used to use it with no harm, but I changed to cold water and it seems to work as well.
Acetone won't work at all; it doesn't relax specimens when you soak them in it to remove grease.
I've never had water harm specimens with non-reflective scales, but those that are iridescent can easily be stained.
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